US e-commerce giant, Amazon, has ruffled a few feathers with the news that it is now running a scheme that encourages delivery drivers to snap a picture of packages placed next to customers’ front doors to demonstrate that they have fulfilled their duties.

The Independent reports that the small scale trial, carried out in a number of American cities over the past six months, aims to cut down on the number of instances of deliveries going missing or being stolen.

However, critics have argued that it is an invasion of privacy, especially as customers are being sent the photos of their front door to act as proof, effectively receiving the image from a complete stranger.

The good news for people who want to carry out safe shopping online without having their home captured on camera by a delivery person is that it is possible to opt out of this service. So only those who are happy with the benefits and potential pitfalls need subject themselves to it.

Company spokesperson, Kristen Kish, said that this innovation helped to reassure customers that their parcels had arrived successfully even if they were not around to take delivery of it in person.

She also said that this was just part of Amazon’s ongoing efforts to make home delivery less arduous for customers and more efficient for its own infrastructural benefit.

The firm is also in the process of putting its own ‘smart lock’ system through its paces, giving delivery drivers direct access to customer properties so that packages can be placed out of harm’s way. This has drawn concerns of its own, but might still be an indication of the direction that the market for shopping online is headed, with Amazon very much in the driving seat.